Clawmarks Upon a Withered Flower
by Mysticbreez
Summary: He had hurt her. He had hurt them all, but admist all this deceit, a crumpled golden flower still manages to stand strong and brave the marks left on her by his betrayel... what Goldenflower was thinking of when Tigerclaw was exiled.


YUS. I finally did it. After being on this site for who knows how long, I've _finally made a story!_ -glows in happiness-

Moving on... this is about what Goldenflower was thinking _as_ Tigerclaw was being exiled. I've seen tons of fics where she reflected on him, but never what she thought while he was leaving. So I thought that I would be the first one to write something like that =3 Sorry if someone else already did this and I didn't notice; I'm not really known for being attentitive to detail ^^'

Excuse the OOCness, I'm not used to writing with canon characters D: The timeline might also be a bit messed up, but I don't know. It's been more than a year since I've read the original series, after all.

**_-^-_**

He had betrayed her.

It didn't shock Goldenflower as much as it should have. After all, Tigerclaw had always been more distant and mysterious than some other cats she'd seen. Even his name seemed to ring with malicious intent. So why was he caught at a time like this, instead of sooner? Why was he exiled now, after almost killing Bluestar, their beloved leader?

The whole Clan had been fooled by this cat. Well, except for Fireheart and Graystripe, but they were the exception. There always seemed to be something special about those two cats, something she couldn't quite name. But it was definitely there. And she knew for certain that Fireheart was hiding something from the Clan. Goldenflower wasn't as innocent as she appeared.

She could hear him now, asking Darkstripe, Longtail and finally Dustpelt to join him. Tigerclaw, the traitor. Tigerclaw, ThunderClan's previous deputy. Tigerclaw, her mate. Asking her clanmates to abandon the Clan that had raised them and instead join him and his band of rogues. Trying to get more traitors out of ThunderClan.

They had all refused, and for that she was partially glad. The fact that Tigerclaw asked them to join him meant that he trusted them. Who knew, maybe one of them would turn on ThunderClan one day. Maybe Tigerclaw would help them when that day came. Unease. Fear. Distrust. That was what he was trying to breed in the heart of ThunderClan. After all, how could someone fight properly when they couldn't even trust their own clanmates?

Her kits wiggled from within the confines of her bushy tail, trying to see what was currently going on, but she wouldn't let them. Bramblekit and Tawnykit were still kits, after all. They shouldn't be witnessing something like this. They shouldn't watch their traitorous father get exiled from his own Clan. It would rip away their innocence way too soon. She knew that it was inevitable; her kits would learn what happened anyways, but still... she was trying to hold it off as far back in the future as possible. They should be able to enjoy their kithood and not be exposed to the outside dangers. Not yet... just a few more days...

Finally, Tigerclaw hurled some final words at the Clan before proceeding to leave. Goldenflower watched him leave, her eyes impassive and expressionless.  
She wouldn't show them how she felt. She wouldn't show them that inside, her heart was slowely being dissolved into pure nothingness. The pain was unbearable, but she wouldn't show it. She wouldn't show anything.

He didn't even glance back at her as his dark shape left the tunnel, though she knew he could feel her green eyes boring into his retreating form.

That night, Brightpaw had a pityful look on her face when she handed Goldenflower her piece of prey--a juicy plump mouse. In fact, all day after the exile, she could feel her clanmate's eyes boring into her with sympathy. She pretended that she didn't notice them. She wasn't angry at them; after all, it was normal for someone to feel sorry for someone else who had been betrayed by their mate. The fact that they had been betrayed seemed irrelevent to them in the light of her situation, she had rationalized. That was why there were so many pityful glances cast her way instead of at any others.

But no matter what they did, they wouldn't get through to her. Goldenflower had turned her heart to stone. The only thing that could access her still-soft center were her two kits. Yes, they would redeem their father's legency.

She'd seen how Fireheart had been looking at Bramblekit that night. He seemed horrified, as if her kit would be the next Tigerclaw. She quickly set him straight. Bramblekit was definitely _not_ Tigerclaw, and he never would be, either. She'll make sure of that. After all, Goldenflower was pretty sure that the only reason Tigerclaw was so angry was because his father, Pinestar, who also happened to be the previous leader of ThunderClan, had left his Clan for the life of a kittypet. That must've been what had fueled his hatred. He was confused about why a Clan cat would prefer the life of a kittypet over life in a Clan, and his confusion eventually turned to anger. At first, his anger had only been directed at his father and the kittypets, but it eventually grew to accomodate every cat in the forest. Why hadn't they stopped him?

Goldenflower cast her green eyes down at her suckling kits, and they softened at the sight of them. She would make sure to not make another cat as sad as Tigerclaw ever again.


End file.
